Posts Tagged ‘Duct work’

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Did the Clean Up Crew Miss a Spot?

January 30th, 2012

Remodeling projects and repairs leave a big mess in the home especially if the repairs involve drywall. Drywall dust and debris can get all over everything and if your contractors did not take the necessary steps to prevent making a mess, you could have this stuff all over your home and the clean up won’t be easy. You may think that they cleaned everything up but a few cycles of the furnace will prove that they missed a very big spot. The duct work and the furnace are probably filled with debris from your construction project and the only way to get rid of it is to have a professional cleaning performed.

HVAC Clean Up:

  • Duct Cleaning: Every time air circulates through the home it will pick up debris from the job that was done. This along with years of dust and other debris may be lurking in your HVAC reeking havoc on the air quality in your home. A professional duct cleaning will clear out everything that is inside your ducts and collect it safely outside the home for disposal. This will leave you with much cleaner air inside the home.
  • Heating and Cooling Systems: Now that the ducts are clean lets take a look at the furnace and air conditioner. Many homeowners use cheap fiberglass filters that do little to protect the furnace from the particles that flow through the air in the home. All of that construction debris may have found its way into your heating and cooling systems and it needs to be cleared out. A dirty furnace or air conditioner cannot do its job properly or in an efficient matter. You will end up wasting money on excess energy use that could have been prevented with a simple cleaning. » Read more: Did the Clean Up Crew Miss a Spot?

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Purifier, Air Quality, Duct Cleaning, Heating, Home Services, Maintenace

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Wrong Duct Work for Your Dryer Vent

November 2nd, 2011

Many homeowners think that their home is basically fire proof because they have taken some basic fire prevention precautions. You have the furnace cleaned out yearly, blow out candles, and use space heaters properly. You may even have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers all throughout the home, but if you haven’t checked your dryer vent, all of those protective measures could quit literally go up in flames. The dryer vent is the duct work that your clothes dryer uses to exhaust combustion fumes to the outdoors. Most homeowners don’t even know that they have this line of duct work in their home, but neglecting it could cause a major home disaster.

Accordion Duct work and Your Dryer Vent

Accordion duct work consists of some sort of material like plastic or aluminum that is coiled to form a long tube. It is flexible and can be easily installed, but it should never be used to vent a dryer. This type of duct work is usually safely used for add on duct work in the HVAC system, but there are two reasons why it should not be used to vent combustion gasses from your dryer.

  1. Friction: The coiled design of this type of duct work encourages lint to become lodged within the duct. Overtime this can be what creates a buildup of lint within the vent. Lint is extremely flammable and a simple spark of static can set your dryer ablaze. » Read more: Wrong Duct Work for Your Dryer Vent

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Posted in Consumer Protection, Duct Cleaning, Home Services, Maintenace, Safty

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Outdated Duct Work

October 10th, 2011

So you are purchasing a new HVAC system for your home, and you have already found the perfect furnace and air conditioner to replace your old outdated units. You have the systems installed, but once you really start using them, you don’t notice much of a difference between the way the old units worked and the way the new systems work. Sure the energy bills are a little bit lower, but did you really get the return on the investment that you were expecting? If not, the problem may not be with your new systems. The problem is probably located in the most commonly neglected portion of the HVAC system: the duct work.

Assessing the Ducts

            The duct work is more important most homeowners think. Sure, the ducts may not have any fancy gadgets, but their ability to transport air effectively is crucial to the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems. If the air they are conditioning cannot get to the target rooms effectively, you will pay more every month for wasted energy that could have been saved by simply caring for this part of the system. The first step towards getting your ducts working the best that they can is to have them inspected by a professional. A true pro can give you an honest assessment of your ducts, and if they can be salvaged, the repair job is simple. If some parts need to be replaced, it may take a bit more effort, but it is necessary to complete so you can get the most out of your new heating and cooling units. » Read more: Outdated Duct Work

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Posted in Duct Cleaning, Furnace, Go Green, Home Services, Insulation, Money Saving

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Imbalanced Blower Motors

August 24th, 2011

Furnaces and air conditioners can make many different noises, but when the source of the noise is your furnace, odds are the blower motor is having a problem. This fan is probably the one part of your HVAC system that is worked the hardest and longest. Whether you are using the air conditioner or the furnace, the blower motor is up and running pushing air throughout the home. The slightest disturbance in the rotation of this blower can devastate the part and require replacement.

Costly Part Replacement

What kind of things can disturb your blower motor? Well, years of caked on particles and small pieces of debris that find their way into the blower compartment are enough to throw the blower off balance. These find their way to the blower through your ducts, and more often then not, the problem is caused by a lack of maintenance to the HVAC system. The slightest imbalance will cause the part of burn out much earlier than it would if it were balanced, and trust us, you don’t want to replace that blower motor more than necessary. » Read more: Imbalanced Blower Motors

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Duct Cleaning, Heating, Maintenace

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Suffering Without Central Air

August 3rd, 2011

I finally got a chance to talk to a new neighbor of mine. Since
they moved in a few months ago I’ve seen him take his garbage out a few times, but today I got a chance to meet and talk to him. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked him why their windows were always open. His reply floored me. They didn’t have central air conditioning. I asked what was keeping them from getting an air conditioner installed. He said it was because they had hot water heat and they didn’t have any duct work in their home. He then answered my next question before I could get it out and told me that they couldn’t get window air conditioners because of the size of their windows. My reply was: it doesn’t matter!

You Can Get Central Air Conditioning Too!

Most homes that don’t have preexisting duct work can get a central air conditioning system installed for a reasonable price. The procedure is just a matter of putting an air handler in the attic to circulate the cold air and running flexible ducts to each of the rooms. There is no major carpentry or drywall work involved at all. » Read more: Suffering Without Central Air

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Contractors, Information

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Adding an Air Conditioner to Your Home

May 24th, 2011

Recently a friend asked me to help him air condition his new attic TV room. My first question is why did you put a TV in your attic? He has an old city house with a walk up attic. He and his wife thought that’s the best place for the kids to watch TV and be out of their hair all in one shot. We checked out all of the possibilities of snaking flexible duct work up to the attic but we could not come up with any way that wouldn’t involve ripping out a wall or two. The only solution I could come up with was a ductless air-conditioner.

Ductless Air Conditioning Systems

If you have never heard or seen a ductless air conditioner, I’m not surprised. For some unknown reason these units don’t get much press, but these systems are often a perfect fit for those that cant make a conventional air conditioner work for their application. These units do not rely on complex duct systems to deliver cooling, and yet they are more sophisticated than your typical window or through the wall air conditioner. » Read more: Adding an Air Conditioner to Your Home

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Heating, Home Services, Remodeling

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Duct Sealing and Your A/C

May 12th, 2011

Does it seem like your HVAC system just can’t keep up with the temperatures outside? Are you paying more than you think you should be on your energy bills? Do you have rooms that just don’t seem to get any conditioned air? Well, if you are finally tired of having these problems in your home, it may be time to explore some of the possible causes of these issues. For many homeowners, upgrading the furnace and air conditioner and adding extra insulation to the home are not the solution to these problems. Sometimes the problem lies in an old duct work system that is full of gaps and leaks. If you already endured a long chilly winter and are looking for a solution to this duct problem, consider having your duct work sealed by a professional. » Read more: Duct Sealing and Your A/C

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Home Repairs, Money Saving

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Energy Efficiency and Your Duct Work

March 21st, 2011

During the course of making our homes more energy efficient, many homeowners look to the HVAC system for savings. An old and inefficient furnace and air conditioner could be the source of your energy waste, but what if the problem really lies in the third component of your HVAC system. The duct work is often left out of the energy efficiency equation, and those that live in older homes, the duct work could be the real source of their energy problems. Homes that are 40, 50, or even 60 years old or more have probably ran through at least a few furnaces and air conditioners, but many still rely on the same old duct work system to deliver heating and cooling to all of the rooms in the home. Doesn’t really make sense does it? If you have had to replace a furnace because it was old and rusted out, just imagine what the ducts look like hidden away in your walls, floors, and ceilings. » Read more: Energy Efficiency and Your Duct Work

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Furnace, Money Saving

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4 Common Furnace Mistakes: Registers

December 9th, 2010

In the past, many homeowners would close off vents in various rooms of the home in order to direct all of the heat to one area and to save money. Nowadays, many people are still doing this, but does this practice still save money? If you use a forced air furnace in your home, you may be making some very serious mistakes when it comes to the supply and return registers that your furnace uses.

1. Only Closing off the Supply Register- A supply register is the exactly what the name suggests. It supplies heat to the rooms in your home. The return register is the vent that pulls air in and sends it back to the furnace. When closing off registers in the home, a common mistake made is when the homeowner only closes the supply register to the room and leaves the return register uncovered. » Read more: 4 Common Furnace Mistakes: Registers

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Posted in Contractors, Furnace, Go Green, Heating, Money Saving

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Duct Leaks and Insulation

November 17th, 2010

Many homeowners are on the right track with making their homes more energy efficient. They replace the old heating and cooling systems with high efficiency units, install a programmable thermostat, have their yearly maintenance performed, and replace the furnace filter regularly. However, thousands of homes that have these improvements are still wasting loads of energy. How is this possible? Leaky or poorly insulated duct work is the problem.

Problems Caused by Leaky and Un-insulated Duct-work

When the builder installed the duct work system in your home, they had to place sections of the duct-work system in areas that are no conditioned by the air conditioner or furnace. As a result, the air that passes through the ducts will either loose heat or cooling to the duct work material. For example, attics are common place for duct work to be hidden. During the winter, the temperature in the attic is similar to the temperature outside. When the duct work is not insulated, it becomes very cold. As hot air passes through the ducts, some heat is lost to the cold duct-work material whether it is metal, fiberglass, or another duct-work type. » Read more: Duct Leaks and Insulation

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Furnace, Home Improvements, Home Repairs, Home Services, Insulation, Money Saving

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